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Frankenstein, a review by Hal

Title: Frankenstein: Classic Monster Collection
Year: 1931
Director: James Whale
Rating: NR
Length: 70 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Colin Clive
Mae Clarke
John Boles
Boris Karloff
Edward Van Sloan

Plot:
Boris Karloff stars as the screen's most memorable monster in what many consider to be the greatest horror film ever made. Dr. Frankenstein dares to tamper with life and death by creating a human moster out of lifeless body parts. It's adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel blended with Karloff's compassionate portrayal of a creature groping for identity that makes "Frankenstein" a masterpiece not only for the genre, but for all time.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Content
"Boo!" a short film

For me this is the grand-daddy of horror films and the epitome of the genre.  This movie gave me nightmares as a child, and for many years, until I was a young adult, I would not watch it.  Watching it today, all of those old feelings came swooping down on me, and just proved that i was not just childhood fears that scared me way back then.  From the setting to the timing to the music to the acting, this is a classic for all time.

Rating:

(From Hal's 2010 Horror Marathon Reviews on October 13th, 2010)

Ocean's 11 (1960), a review by RossRoy

Original Title: Ocean's 11 Year: 1960 Country: United States Director: Lewis Milestone Rating: NR Length: 127 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, French: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

What they sayMy Thoughts
I don't know what to think. I've seen the remake a while ago, and I remember enjoying it a lot, thinking it was entertaining and fun. So I thought the original would be pretty much the same. And in a sense, it is. You've got a bunch of stars having fun making a light hearted movie. Thing is, to me, the stars of the remake are much more Stars, than the Rat Pack. Oh sure, I know the members of the rat pack, but mostly for their music. Not much for their film work. And I think this might've dragged down my enjoyment of it a little. Ok, a lot.

The film, by itself, without the star power, is not really all that interesting to me. I mean, the movie starts with the heist already all planned out, so they're right smack in the middle of preparations, with gathering the gang together. The preparation of the heist itself is not that entertaining, nor suspenseful. The heist itself is pretty bland. I guess the high point is the ending, with that twist at the end. It's like the whole movie never found a rhythm, which is surprising, seeing as it is so star studded with famous singers of the swing era.

Rating:

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on November 1st, 2008)

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Buffy's 17th birthday is coming up and the gang has planned a surprise party. But Drusilla and Spike have also something planned: They want to reassemble the Judge, a demon who could bring forth Armageddon and destroy the Human race. And Angel and Buffy are getting closer and closer but the Gypsies who once cursed him will not allow that he is happy and they have an "agent" right in the gang's midst.

My Opinion: Maybe it's due to his frustration of sitting in a wheel chair, but reassembling the Judge contradicts Spike's statement in the season finale that he likes the world as it is ("Millions of 'Happy Meals' on legs."). But I liked this (and the following) episode very much and I really liked Vincent Schiavelli's appearance as Gypsy elder even though it was short. This episode also starts the tradition that Buffy's birthdays will always be terrible.

Synopsis: When Buffy and Angel have slept together, Angel experienced a "moment of true happiness" and subsequently lost his soul again because the curse was lifted. He's now Angelus again and teams up with Dru, Spike and the Judge. Buffy is crushed and has to deal with it, but she also has to stop the Judge of whom is said that he can't be destroyed by any weapon forged by men.

My Opinion: Angelus is back! I love David as Angelus. He's cruel, he's an asshole and he's still obsessed with Buffy. And he plays it very well. I'd say he plays the soulless Big Bad better than the tormented ensouled Vampire. I also love the idea to recruit the Big Bad from the good guys. It was also a great idea to kill a demon with some modern day weaponry instead of trying to slice and dice him with swords and the like. And I thought it was a great idea that Xander retained some of the memories from when he was a "real" soldier in Halloween.

Synopsis: When Cordy and Xander make out in Lover's Lane they are attacked by a Werewolf but they can escape. Since a Werewolf is a normal human being at day and only a Werewolf three nights a month there's only a short time for Buffy and other hunters to get him before he attacks more people and then goes dormant for a month. And Willow is frustrated that Oz won't make a move on her.

My Opinion: So, Oz is a Werewolf. Our trio seems to fancy more extravagant partners. I really like it how people - who are way different - are accepted by the gang as long as they don't do evil. This kind of acceptance and (later) alliance will help them to survive and defeat the true evil. The Werewolf costume didn't look really convincing but I assume it's hard to create a realistic one. It doesn't even always work when you use CGI. For example, Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was also not a convincing CGI-Werewolf. But I really liked the Werewolf-CGIs of Underworld.
The growling contest between Angelus and Oz was also great.

Synopsis: After their relationship has become public knowledge, Cordy dumps Xander Valentine's Day, even though she (secretly) still has feelings for him. Xander is crushed, laughed at and furious. After he's witnessed Amy using a spell on one of their teachers he blackmails her to cast a love spell on Cordelia for that she may feel as tormented as he does. But the spell seriously backfires.

My Opinion: This episode managed to keep the balance between comedy and drama. The scenes between Xander and (all) the girls were hilarious but Giles managed to point out the seriousness of that whole affair. This also starts the tradition that using magic for one's selfish purposes will ultimately backfire and that magic is always to be handled with care.

(From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon on April 25th, 2009)